Lawsuit by Koschman's mother accuses cops of falsifying evidence about son's death

Video: Lawsuit is over civil rights violation

Nanci Koschman gets emotional as she stands with the attorneys Locke Bowman and Flint Taylor representing her and the estate of David Koschman.

Nanci Koschman gets emotional as she stands with the attorneys Locke Bowman and Flint Taylor representing her and the estate of David Koschman.

Steve SchmadekeTribune reporter

Chicago police fabricated evidence and conspired with City Hall and county prosecutors to protect then-Mayor Richard Daley’s “political dynasty” by covering up the involvement of Daley’s nephew in a 2004 killing, a federal lawsuit by the victim’s mother alleged Monday.

The suit, which relies heavily on the findings of special prosecutor Dan Webb, also alleged that Daley and certain family members, friends and associates gave “false, misleading and incomplete statements” as part of Webb’s investigation into David Koschman’s death.

More than 25 defendants were named in the suit, including the City of Chicago, Cook County, former police Superintendents Phil Cline and Jody Weis, numerous other former high-level police officials, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, former State’s Attorney Dick Devine and Daley’s nephew, Richard Vanecko, who is serving a 60-day sentence for the involuntary manslaughter.

Noticeably absent was Daley himself, though the suit referred to three unnamed Daley family members, listing them only as “John Does.” At a press conference, lawyers for Koschman’s mother, Nanci, implied the former mayor and other family members could be added as defendants after they gather more information.

Nanci Koschman told reporters Monday that she decided to file the lawsuit after being shocked to learn from Webb’s voluminous report how her son’s death was treated by the Police Department and the state’s attorney’s office.

“After I read this report several times, I realized that my fight was not over,” she said. “…It seems to me they did everything in their powers to just make this case go away.”

“There is no bringing my son back, and that’s all I really, truly want,” she said. “But maybe my small voice can be heard to make a change for future Davids.”

The suit alleged that Daley or someone closely connected to him or his family caused high-level police officials to learn within hours of Koschman’s death that the mayor’s nephew was involved in order to prevent him from being criminally charged or sued.

“As a result of some back-channel communication that could only have originated with Vanecko and the other Daley associates, the police were informed of the identity of the person involved and that’s when the investigation went off the rails,” said Locke Bowman, one of Koschman’s attorneys.

The suit alleged that during separate investigations seven years apart, police fabricated evidence and altered official files, all in a bid to falsely make it appear that Koschman, 10 inches shorter and more than 100 pounds lighter than Vanecko, was the aggressor in the altercation.

A spokesman for Daley could not be reached for comment Monday evening, while a Devine representative and an Alvarez spokeswoman declined comment on the lawsuit.

To bolster their case, Koschman’s lawyers said they intend to seek grand jury transcripts and any other evidence uncovered by Webb’s investigation that was not made public. But it could prove difficult to glean any new answers, especially now that every key witness is essentially locked into whatever they said to Webb’s special grand jury. Lawyers in civil cases also have fewer tools at their disposal.